All My Children Commentary

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The Best and Worst of All My Children 2013:
We've come to the end of another year, and once again we're saying goodbye to All My Children. This week we take one last look back at the things t... Read the column now...

Standing in the entryway of the Glamorama, Tad, Dixie and Rae had a long discussion whether it really was Stuart pretending to be Adam. Rae wasn't so sure, she thought it was possible that Adam had changed. Tad and Dixie knew better, however, and became convinced it definitely was Stuart. Tad couldn't believe he didn't figure it out before, when Liza threw the pie in Adam's face and his only response was, "Banana cream, my favorite." They decide to cash the check quickly, before the real Adam appeared to stop payment on it, and Tad promised to use some of the money to help Rae find Daniel. The one thing they couldn't decide upon was whether Liza knew the truth about "Adam." As Tad and Dixie went to leave, Liza suddenly appeared and Tad informed her of Adam's generosity. When Liza congratulated him and showed interest in putting his new show on WRCW, they knew the truth. Liza was in on the whole thing, otherwise she would have been much more surprised about Adam helping Tad. After Liza goes in for her appointment, the three discuss the situation again. They're not sure where Adam is or why Liza's going along with it, but they plan to take full advantage of the situation. Tad rushes off to the bank to cash the check.

Going into Palmer's room to visit him, Erica learned that he was out having some more tests done. While she waited, David appeared and Erica welcomed him back from his trip, happy to see him. As Erica is encouraging David to tell her what he found out about Leo in Europe, Leo himself walks in and makes himself comfortable on Palmer's bed. He's heard that David has been checking up on him. David informs him that he found out that Vanessa has been no better mother to Leo than she has to David, leaving Leo with nannies and then shipping him off to boarding schools while she traveled the world with her rich lovers. David mentions one time in particular when Leo was in the hospital for several weeks with hepatitis and Vanessa couldn't even bother to end her African safari to come home and be with her son. Leo gets very defensive of Vanessa, saying that she wrote when she could and that she did care about him. We have a relationship that you could never understand, Leo informs David before leaving in a huff. After he leaves, David tells Erica that Leo is full of insecurities because of his upbringing. Leo's father was a wealthy, married man who refused to leave his wife when Vanessa got pregnant and after Leo was born, she passed him off as her nephew.

Palmer returns after his tests and Erica reminds him of his promise to help David become the director of the Andrassy Foundation. I haven't forgotten, Palmer tells her. In fact, he's arranged a board meeting for that afternoon to convince the other board members that David is the right person for the job. Erica thanks Palmer for the support and says that she owes him one. When Erica leaves the room, she literally bumps into Alex in the hall and is happy to inform Alex about the board meeting that afternoon. Alex warns Erica that there's something very ugly about her boyfriend that she doesn't know, and if she keeps pushing, Alex will be forced to reveal it. Erica tries not to show how Alex's words bother her, but when David comes out to find her still standing there, she asks him for the truth. He asks her to remember how much he loves her and asks if she trusts him. "Yes", she answers quietly. "Then I will tell you exactly why Alexandra Marick hates me", David says.

Gillian is in the sun room with Jake, doing some exercises. They start joking around and Jake tickles her, making her laugh. Entering the sun room, Alex is happy to see Gillian looking so much better. Gillian gets upset when Alex mentions that she'll be leaving Pine Valley and going back to England, but Alex promises her she's not leaving soon, she'll be staying through the holidays. Ryan rushes in, he got a message from the hospital and assumed it must be about Gillian. It wasn't, Jake informs him, and suggests maybe it was the accounting department calling about his bill. While he's there, Ryan says hello to Gillian and tries to get her to say his name. She comes close and he praises her and tells her she's doing better. While he's off getting her a soda, Jake and Gillian practice more flash cards and when she does well, Jake leans over to give her a hug and kisses her. Ryan returns at that moment with the soda and sees their kiss.

Over at the Chandler mansion, Janet finds "Adam" and tells him she needs his help. She asks him for a donation for a charity she's founding to help needy children. "Adam" can tell that something's wrong and asks her about it, but Janet denies that she has a problem. "Adam" finally agrees to help and writes a check - then tears it up. Janet panics that he changed his mind, but "Adam" just realized that he signed the check "Stuart" and writes her another one. A grateful Janet gives "Adam" a big hug, then apologizes for wrinkling him and hurries away before he can change his mind. In the safe room, Adam is annoyed when he sees Stuart giving money to that woman who killed someone with a crowbar. Adam is more determined than ever to get out and looks around once again for a way out. Finally he finds a large grate on the wall, if he can get it open, it looks large enough for him to escape through.

Janet rushes home and gives Sophie the $50,000 in an envelope. Sophie complains that it's all in hundreds, but Janet tells her to just be glad she got the money and to go. She manages to push her out the front door just before Trevor comes in through the back. He can tell she's upset, but she insists that everything is fine. Little does she know that Sophie is calling the Pine Cone Motel and telling them to hold onto her room for her, she's sticking around town "way into the next millennium."

Today's recap was provided by Bersonian.
David explains his past troubles with Alex to Erica. He tells her that
Siobhan stole his key to the medicine cabinet. Alex believed that David
gave her the key knowing full well that she would steal the drugs to kill
herself. David also tells Erica that Alex came on to him while Siobhan was
out of town. David turned her down and ever since then she has been trying
to humiliate him in any way possible. They join Alex, Joe and Palmer out on
the terrace. They come in as Alex is telling them that she heard (from a
friend of David's) that David knew that if he rejected Siobhan and her
child that she would kill herself. Alex says that if it was up to her then
David would be kicked out of Pine Valley Hospital all together! Erica jumps
in defending David; Joe and Palmer agree with Erica due to the lack of proof
that David did any of this. Alex tells them that David lost his
fellowship/grant when this all happened so obviously someone else also felt
he was at fault. David quickly comes back with, "And who received the grant
in my place?" Alex doesn't find this relevant but Palmer seems to find that
suspicious. He asks Alex if its true and she says yes. Joe, Palmer and
David go to speak privately leaving Erica and Alex to shoot glares at each
other. Erica tells Alex that she knows that she tried to come on to David
and he rejected her. Alex denies that any of that happened and tells Erica
that David is going to destroy her. Erica tells Alex that she is perfectly
capable of taking care of herself. Joe and David come back out (saying that
Palmer had to go lay back down) and Joe announces as Chief of Staff he has no
other choice but to recommend David as the head of the foundation. Alex
can't believe it as David and Erica smile smugly.

Hayley goes to see Ryan at his apartment. They talk for a few minutes about
missing each other's friendship etc. then she sees Greenlee's shirt on his
couch. She quickly apologizes for not calling first and leaves telling Ryan
to tell Scott to give her a call. Greenlee comes out of the bedroom and
since Ryan was clearly distracted by Hayley's visit she says she will come
back another night---she understands. Ryan tells her that he doesn't want her
to leave. She offers to listen to him if he'd like to talk but he just
kisses her and then they make love. Afterwards to a sleeping Ryan, Greenlee
says, "I'm not fooling myself, I know I don't mean anything to you now---but I
will."

Hayley ends up back at Trevor's house and they battle it out about Hayley's
feelings for Mateo. He tells her that Ryan was just a decoy to help herself
keep her mind of off Mateo. She gets defensive saying that Ryan is one of
her best friends and she wouldn't do that. Trevor tells Hayley that Mateo
still has feelings for her and she tries not to seem too interested. She
asks why he thinks that and he tells her that he saw Mateo at his club today
and they talked about her. Trevor told Mateo the Hayley never slept with
Ryan and Hayley flips out. She tells Uncle Porkchop that she didn't want
Mateo to know that, ever. He laughs and says that the sooner she admits that
she is still in love with Mateo the happier she'll be! She gets all huffy
and tells him to write himself a self-help book and stay out of her life
cause she is fine without a man. After she leaves Trevor looks after her
saying to himself, "She loves him! Oh boy does she love him."

Meanwhile Mateo and Adrian discuss Mateo's lingering feelings for Hayley as
Tina listens on some headphones from across the bar. Afterwards Adrian talks
to her and she says that she knows Mateo has some feelings for Hayley but he
didn't say anything bad about her! She tells Adrian that she is ready for a
fight!

Just a quick note to all of the readers who have written to me over the past week or so to make sure that I'm okay. Things are going much better on this end then they were last week at this time. Thanks for your concern --- it means a great deal to me. I'll be back supplying recaps again, but I may need a day off here and there to handle things from time to time.--- Dan (dan@soapcentral.com)

At Sounds of Salsa, Stuart angrily barked orders at Tina, forgetting that he wasn't pretending to be Adam. Stuart seemed particularly amused that he was getting so good at pretending to be his brother. He stopped momentarily, thought hard, and then asked Marian if he was at risk of turning into Adam. Marian assured him that he could never be like Adam. To give her husband a break from his on-going charade, she promised Stuart that for the rest of the night he didn't even have to think about Adam. The front door of the club swung open and Jake strolled inside with an anxious Gillian on his arm. Gillian was pleased to be out of the hospital, but she was nervous that her inability to communicate would cause problems. Adrian and Mateo raced over to the door to greet the princess. Jake explained that Gillian had a few hours to enjoy partial freedom. After that, she had to return to the hospital. Gillian mused that she'd turned into "a shoe" if she wasn't back in time. Jake and Gillian wandered over to Marian and Stuart's table. There, Jake asked the couple if they were as curious of Adam's sudden nice behavior as he was. "Adam isn't really Adam any more," Stuart replied cryptically. Fearing that her husband might say something he shouldn't, Marian quickly stepped in to change the subject. She told Jake that no matter how Adam was acting, she would never allow Adam to interfere in his relationship with Colby. Jake smiled warmly and thanked Marian for her concern. He confessed that a few months ago he'd thought that he'd never get to know his daughter. Gillian looked on in concern, but she said nothing. Jake needed to have a few words with Adrian and left Gillian alone at a table near the front of the club. Mateo joined her and asked her how she was feeling. Gillian nodded slightly, instead opting to thank Mateo for saving her life. Mateo downplayed his role in rescuing her, saying that he was glad that she was feeling better. "You and Hayley?" Gillian asked. Mateo knew what Gillian was asking, but it was still difficult for him to talk about his failed relationship. Mateo informed Gillian that Hayley was "making her own way." She and Ryan, he explained, were no longer a couple. He stunned Gillian by stating that Ryan and Hayley had never made love. Mateo declined to say that he was happy now that he knew the truth. Rather, he told Gillian that he's "messed up" too many people's lives to be happy just yet. Time passed and it was almost time for Gillian to get back to the hospital. "Floor?" Gillian asked Jake, her eyes aglow. Jake pretended to have to think about Gillian's request to dance. Obviously he agreed. As they danced close, Mateo looked on. It wasn't clear if he was surprised that Gillian had moved on with her life or if he thought that Gillian was trying to ignore her true feelings for Ryan. As it was time for Gillian to leave, Jake pulled her close and told her that he loves her.

At WRCW, Tad planned a press conference to unveil the format of his new show. Dixie gathered some folks from the mall to act as an audience for the event. Liza popped in --- much to Tad's surprise --- and demanded to know what Tad was doing. She reminded him that he wasn't even an employee of WRCW any more. Nevertheless, Tad promised Liza that his press conference would make her want to put him back on the payroll. Tad didn't come out and say exactly what he had in mind. He did, though, tell Liza that he'd like to have Adam present so that he can discuss having Adam as the first guest on his show. Liza told Tad that she and Adam haven' been speaking much lately. In fact, she wasn't even sure if Adam could be reached on such short notice. Tad threatened to head over to Chandler Mansion to find Adam and Liza quickly bowed to his demands. Liza phoned Marian at the salsa club to ask her if Stuart could put on another performance. Marian was opposed to the idea, but Stuart took the phone away from her and agreed to help Liza. Marian claimed to have a bad feeling about the idea. "What if the wrong twin pops out?" she asked.

"This is not your decision to make," Alexandra snapped upon hearing Joe's decision. "If the foundation is to find a home here at Pine Valley Hospital," said Joe, then the board should have a decision about who will head up the organization. Alex flashed an angry glare at Erica and accused her of being the reason that she had to appoint David to head the Andrassy Foundation. "He'll finish you," Alex growled. "He won't actually kill you like he did Siobhan." Joe asked to speak to Alex in private. David and Erica were only too willing to leave. Joe carefully explained how he'd reached his decision; there was no hard proof that David was responsible for Siobhan's death. The next issue was to discuss how David and Alex acted in a professional environment. "I don't have to stand here and listen to a lecture on professionalism," Alex grumbled. As Alex stormed out of the room, she bumped into a still-smiling Erica. Joe scolded Erica for finding pleasure in the situation. Surprisingly, David agreed, "Nobody won here today." Erica complained about Alex's disregard for Dimitri. She felt that Alex only wanted what was best for herself rather than honoring Dimitri's last request. David chuckled to himself and agreed that Erica was enjoying his appointment to the Andrassy Foundation entirely too much. Erica smiled sexily and told David that she'd like to go somewhere private where she can share some of her joy.

Alex stormed into the hunting lodge at Wildwind, fuming over what had happened at the hospital. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked Dimitri. "So I could go through all this agony?" Alex hoisted a vase above her head and readied to smash it to the ground. From out of nowhere, Edmund grabbed on to her arm and told her that the vase had been appraised for ten thousand dollars. He then told her that she was free to smash it if it would make her feel better. Alex rethought the situation and placed the vase back down on a desk. Edmund listened intently as Alex told him what had transpired at the hospital. Edmund had but one question. "Were you in love with David Hayward," he asked. Alex flashed him a look of disbelief. "I couldn't stand him from the moment I met him," she replied. Alex toyed with the idea of dissolving the Andrassy Foundation. Edmund accused Alex of being driven out of town by David. He went one step further by insinuating that she was actually afraid of David. Alex argued that that was not the case. "Then you have to stay [and] fight him!" Edmund instructed her.

Back at the television station, Stuart arrived at the station wearing one of Adam's suits. Tad, knowing that Adam was really Stuart, approached the millionaire and told him that he wanted to pitch him an idea about his new show. Tad told Adam that he wanted him to act as Santa Claus and give away "millions and millions" of dollars to worthwhile charities. "Millions?" Liza gasped. "You are an icon of self-interest," Tad said to Adam as he ignored Liza. The money, said Tad, could be used to build houses for the homeless, build new schools, and otherwise improve the lives of the underprivileged. Liza voiced her objection to Tad's request to have Adam give away all of his money. Tad explained that Adam wouldn't be giving away all of his money --- and the money that he did give away he would re-earn in a matter of days. Stuart had been very receptive to the idea. Then he remembered that Adam wouldn't be so eager to part with his money. "I don't give a damn" about the underprivileged, Adam snapped. "There's no excuse to be poor in this country --- not unless you're afraid of good, hard work!" Adam groused. Tad claimed that the giveaway would be a great publicity move for Adam and Chandler Enterprises. Adam nodded his head and said that he agreed that it might be worth exploring the option. Tad shocked him by telling him that a media corps was on-hand to capture the moment for all posterity. Liza tried to intervene, but it did no good. As the flashbulbs flickered, Adam raced out of the studio. The photographers chased after him leaving only Liza and Tad in the former The Cutting Edge studio. Liza walked over to him and shifted her weight onto one foot. "Just a minute," she said unhappily. "You know, don't you?"

In David's suite at Pine Valley Hospital, David told Erica that he didn't want to hear anything more about Alex Marick. Erica looked deep into David's eyes and told him that she was happy that he was able to tell her the truth about Siobhan. That, she said, made her feel even closer to him. David sighed slightly and said that he was relieved to finally be rid of the secret that had dogged him for so long. After making love, Erica had to head on her way to a meeting Hayley. A knock on David's door sounded and David mistakenly assumed that Erica had come back for an encore performance. Alex greeted David and asked if she could speak to him for a few moments. She informed David that she'd decided to accept Joe's decision. David said that he'd get dressed so that they could attend the board meeting. Alex told him that there was no need; she had already contacted Joe and told him of her decision to appoint David "co-director" of the Andrassy Foundation. "Co-director?" David asked. "I'm going to stay in Pine Valley," Alex beamed. "We'll be working together."

Still locked in what was supposed to be a "safe room," Adam watched a gourmet cooking show on television, struggling to open a sealed plastic pouch of dehydrated food. Solitude was beginning to play tricks with Adam's mind. He rammed into the plastic wall dividing him from the outside world. He called Stuart, Marian, and Liza's actions a "direct defiance of the Geneva Convention." Adam sat down and actually cradled a pretend Colby in his arms. It was then that he realized that he was "going crazy." He was furious that while he was cooped up, his brother was "decimating [his] entire fortune." Adam vowed to stay sharp --- just like a prisoner of war. He dropped to the floor and attempted to do a couple of push-ups.

"Are you trying to psyche me out?" David asked Alex with a wry smile. Alex shook her head defiantly. "Mind games are your style, not mine," Alex replied sassily. David wanted to what had spurred Alex to stay in town. More importantly, he wanted to know why she'd want to subject herself to working with someone she loathed. "You can walk away at any time you'd like and I won't think any less of you," Alex stated. "It's not possible." David warned Alex that she would not scare him off. If that was her plan, he urged her to find a new game plan.

At The Valley Inn, Leo cozied up to two European women. His intent was for some fun a little later on. Dixie strolled into the bar area and Leo immediately cut short his schmoozing. He offered to give the two ladies the key to his room, but they were quickly turned off because they thought that Dixie was yet another object of the young man's desire. That wasn't the case, but Leo made no attempt to clear things up. He would later tell Dixie that he enjoys meeting and getting to know as many people as possible. He chalked it up to his roustabout childhood. Dixie asked Leo how he liked his new job at Cortlandt Electronics. Surprisingly, Leo wasn't at all pleased with his executive job --- and accompanying executive salary. Leo wanted a job where he could sit around all day and do nothing and still get paid.

"Answer me, Tad," Liza grumbled. Tad shrugged innocently and told Liza that he had no idea what she was talking about. "What do you know and how long have you known it." Again, Tad claimed to have no idea of what Liza was saying. Hayley and Erica strolled into the studio talking about Hayley's new fashion show. Erica asked Liza if she could speak to Ryan so that they could discuss the latest advertising rates. Her plan was to have Enchantment be the show's main sponsor. Rae was next to arrive on the scene. Liza became more and more frazzled with Tad's plans to move forward with his new show. Not only did he not have permission to use the studio, he hadn't cleared a schedule, arranged to pay the station workers, and he was still bilking Stuart out of Adam's money. "Are we still on for the Great Adam Chandler Giveaway?" Rae asked Tad. Erica was floored that Adam was parting with his money. She looked at Liza and asked, "Has Adam had another stroke?" Across the studio, Ryan finally arrived for his meeting with Tad and Erica. As he walked, he was suddenly yanked behind a curtain. Greenlee smiled at Ryan and gave him a gentle kiss. Ryan warned Greenlee that she'd never got a job working on Hayley's show if she paraded around with her almost ex-lover. Greenlee nodded understandingly and agreed to play it cool while they were at the station. Meanwhile, Rae was proudly showing off a caricature she'd had made for Hayley. It was apparently an idea for Hayley's show, for which she suggested the title "Rave." Erica strutted along, content that Hayley could make her own decisions. As Erica left, Rae turned to Hayley and remarked, "If Erica hadn't been born, they should've invented her." Dixie and Leo arrived and Dixie pitched an idea to Tad that would've seen Leo working at Tad's assistant. Tad wasn't thrilled by the idea, but he agreed to do it for his wife's sake. Leo picked up on Ryan and Greenlee's frigid working relationship and pressed her for details. For the first time, Greenlee admitted that she and Ryan were seeing each other, but she didn't go into much detail. Leo wanted more details, but Greenlee wasn't going to budge. "Life is confusing if you don't know the program," Greenlee said curtly. "I wrote the program." Ordinarily, that would have stopped even the most aggressive attack. Not Leo. "I translated the program into seven languages," Leo retorted. Liza returned to grilling Tad about what he knew about "Adam." Liza finally cut to the chase and confirmed that Adam wasn't really Adam --- he was Stuart. "You think so?" Tad jested, still not ready to 'fess up about what he knew. "Who would out [Stuart] up to such a thing?" Tad asked. Liza stomped her foot against the ground and snarled, "My mother!" Tad told Liza that he didn't want to know all the details about where Adam was. In fact, he stopped Liza immediately after she said that he was "on a retreat." That way, Tad smiled, he would not be an accomplice in a kidnapping or murder plot. Liza assured Tad that Adam had deserved what he'd gotten. Tad never doubted that, arguing that he now had the chance to stick it to Adam once and for all. Liza didn't want Tad to squander Adam's fortune... Colby's inheritance. Tad reminded Liza that Colby was Jake's son, not Adam's. Besides, he noted, Adam already had three children to divvy up his fortune. Across the studio, Rae told Dixie that she wanted Tad to explore the issue of black market babies on his new show. Rae voiced her disgust about how someone with a lot of money can easily buy --- or steal --- someone else's child. Dixie looked curiously at the radio talk show host and asked her if there was any connection between black market babies and the daughter that she'd "lost." Rae took Dixie's hand and softly replied, "Let's talk about this some other time." Rae turned and walked away.

Janet and Trevor arrived at SOS for a night on the town. Adrian told Trevor that Janet works hard at balancing the club's books. Janet smiled and thanked Adrian for the praise. From that point on, Janet said that talking about money was off limit. Trevor had to excuse himself to take a call from a client. Janet headed over to a table near the back of the club. Suddenly, a police officer seated at the bar stuck out her foot and attempted to trip Janet. Janet looked up and a familiar face gleamed back at her. "You can't be too careful," Sophie sneered. "You better watch your step, hon." Janet's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She demanded to know why Sophie was still in town. "I got lonesome," Sophie replied wittily. Janet told Sophie to meet her in the bathroom in five minutes. In the ladies' room, Janet closed her eyes while she stood in front of the mirror. "Mirror, mirror on the wall. Let it be only me, that's all." Janet opened her eyes and smiled when she realized that Mirror Janet wasn't looking back at her. Someone else was, though. Janet looked angrily at Sophie and again demanded to know when she was going to leave town. Sophie claimed that Janet's lack of concern for her hurt her feelings. "After everything I've done for you?" Sophie squawked. The only thing Sophie had done for her, at least according to Janet, was torment her and her daughter. Sophie insisted that she and Amanda --- and all kids, for that matter --- got along swimmingly. She explained that she usually starts the discussion with talk of dogs, trading cards, or bottle caps. "Bottle caps?" Janet echoed. At that moment, Janet realized that Sophie had been the one who'd helped Junior find his way out of the woods. Sophie nodded her head, but she groused that she was upset that the kids had been looking for "The Bottle Guy." "How sexist," she grumbled. As for her plans to leave, Sophie said that she might stay in Pine Valley permanently. Janet suddenly reached out and grabbed hold of Sophie's arm. "You better think again," she snapped. Sophie wasn't intimidated in the least. "I want what you got," she said icily. Janet argued that she'd earned her happiness. "Spread it around," Sophie countered. Janet warned Sophie that she had until midnight to leave town. After that time, she said that she'd call the police. Sophie reached into her pocket and pulled out a little stuffed purple monkey. Janet's face immediately fell. "Your little girl might be missing this," she said coldly. "It's funny how little kids get so attached to things like mommies and daddies." Janet was unable to speak. "Don't ever cross me, girlfriend," added Sophie. With that, Sophie turned and walked away. Janet hid inside a stall, trying to escape the voice of Mirror Janet. Mirror Janet taunted Janet cruelly, reminding her that she'd predicted that Sophie would not leave town. Mirror Janet told Janet to act fast before Sophie snatches Amanda away from her. Janet stormed out of the bathroom in tears. She told Trevor that she'd come down with a terrible migraine headache and needed to go home.

Back at WRCW, Tad hit the airwaves to promote his new show --- and Adam's huge cash giveaway. Adam watched the show from the safe room and nearly hit the ceiling. He reached for a screwdriver and then headed over to one of the air vents leading from the room. "Sorry to disappoint you, buddy," he mumbled. "but the buck stops right here!"

In the sunroom at the hospital, Gillian is looking through her flash
cards and stops at one of a bride and groom. Jake comes in and sees that
she looks troubled. He tells her that when he told her he loved her the
night before at SOS, he wasn't expecting a response from her. Actually,
he wasn't even planning to tell her how he felt, it just kind of came
out. I can stay away, if that's what you'd like me to do, Jake says.
Gillian haltingly tells him she wants him to stay. They start practicing
vocabulary with things in the room and Gillian does well until Jake
points to the Christmas tree. "Bah humbug", Gillian says, depressed.
Jake makes her a promise that she will be out of the hospital by
Christmas Eve, even if he has to sneak her out himself. Before he
leaves, Jake give Gillian a present, a set of red reindeer antlers,
which she puts on.

Later, Ryan stops by to see how Gillian's doing before he leaves for
NYC. Is there anything I can bring you, he asks. "Beagles", she replies.
"The four legged furry kind?", he teases her before promising to bring
back a bag of bagels for her. He admires her antlers and she tells him
they are from Jake, Jake takes good care of her. "Lucky Jake", Ryan says
quietly before correcting himself and saying "Lucky you." He looks sad
at the thought that someone else besides himself is taking care of
Gillian.

At the TV studio, everyone is in a rush getting ready for the debut of
"Nothing But the Truth." Tad yells at Leo for not doing his job, but
then apologizes when Leo reveals he found a young boy whose community
center burnt down and there isn't enough money to rebuild...... and the
boy had a cute older sister. Tad comments that Leo reminds him of
himself when he was younger. Tad sends Leo out to get coffee for
everyone. Rae is there, she's scheduled to be Tad's co-host for the
show. But then Brooke comes in and tells Rae she knows where Daniel is.
Brooke found out that he's going to be dining with an old school friend
and if Rae hurries up to NYC she'll be able to catch them at the
restaurant. Rae apologizes for leaving Tad in the lurch, but this is the
best chance she's had to find Daniel. Just then, Dixie arrives to wish
Tad well. Tad has an idea who his new co-host could be.

At the mall, preparations are being made for Tad's show, which will be
broadcast live from the Pine Valley Mall. Becca has brought Junior to
see his father give away money and Janet and Amanda are there Christmas
shopping. Junior and Amanda go over to look in a store window while a
nervous Janet watches them as she talks to Becca. Suddenly, Janet gets
upset and runs across the mall to Amanda, who is talking to a woman
collecting money for charity. Janet yells at Amanda for talking to a
strange woman, who turns out not to be Sophie, and insists that they
leave immediately, despite Amanda's protests.

The show begins and Tad reminds everyone of the last time Adam was on
the show, how he got a pie thrown in his face for stealing WRCW from
Liza. The grinch must have changed his ways, Tad says, because he's
there tonight to give away millions of dollars to people in need. "Adam"
comes out dressed in a Santa suit with checkbook in hand. The first
person to come up and ask for money is the little boy that Leo found. He
tells "Adam" about the community center he went to being burned down by
a drug dealer and how the kids in his neighborhood have no place to go.
"Adam" write him a million dollar check to cover the rebuilding of the
center.

Next up is Jake, who Liza called and asked to come down and ask for
money for the Cindy Chandler AIDS hospice. Jake is skeptical that Adam
is really giving money away, but Tad and Dixie encourage him to go ahead
and ask. So Jake asks Santa for the money for the AIDS hospice and tears
could be seen in Stuart's eyes as he gladly wrote the check. Jake thanks
"Adam" and comments that the check is also in honor of his daughter,
Colby's, first Christmas.

Adam, who has been watching the show from the safe room, is upset when
he realizes that Junior is proud of him for the first time in his life,
and it isn't even really him. But even that doesn't seem to make Adam
want to change his ways, and when he hears Jake calling Colby "his
daughter", he gets very upset and is more determined than ever to get
out and stop what's happening. He goes over to the grate on the wall and
manages to get it off and starts crawling through the opening.

Back at WRCW, Greenlee is still angling to get a job on Hayley's new
show. Whey Hayley compliments her dress, Greenlee makes sure to mention
that her aunt has many connections in the fashion world and could get
one for her if she likes. Hayley turns down the offer, but sees the
possible help Greenlee's connections could be for her show. Ryan comes
by to tell Greenlee that he's headed to NYC to try to line up
advertisers for Hayley's new show. Greenlee offers to drop everything
and come with him, but Ryan turns her down. After Ryan leaves, Leo comes
over to a depressed Greenlee and tells her that he can see what her
plans are, even if Ryan can't. Leo knows that Greenlee's not looking to
work on Hayley's show, she's angling to become the star of the show.
Greenlee doesn't deny it and compliments Leo for being smart enough to
see it, promising a spot for him on her show if things work out her way.
Leo and Greenlee headed over to the mall to watch the show and arrived
just as Becca was giving Scott a present she made for him, a jar of
chocolate sauce she made from one of Dixie's recipes. When Scott is
called away to fix an audio problem, Greenlee takes the chance to mock
Becca's present and "accidentally" drop it on the floor. Becca's upset and
starts to clean up the mess, but Leo steps in and tells her to leave it
and he'll clean it up. When Becca leaves, Leo calls over the janitor to
clean up the mess.

Hayley is very busy making plans for her new show when Janet stops by to
ask her a favor. Janet asks if Hayley could spend some more time
watching Amanda in the afternoons, since she sometimes gets home from
school before Janet gets home from work. Hayley doesn't understand why
Janet feels it's a problem, since one of their neighbors looks after
Amanda, but Janet's worried that since she's a teenage girl, she might
get distracted and someone could take Amanda. Hayley's not going to be
around much because of her show, but promises to do what she can. Hayley
thinks Janet's worrying about it a little too much, Amanda will be fine,
but Janet doesn't seem comforted. After Hayley left, "mirror-Janet"
warned Janet that the only way to solve her problem was to "get rid of "
Sophie.